General Virgin Australia Lounge Discussion

[Mr H]

Sounds like the food and drink options in Adelaide continue to be excellent, especially compared to the likes of Melbourne. Always enjoy my visits to Adelaide.

ADL’s great.

Until you get murdered.

 

[jase05]

ADL’s great.

Until you get murdered.

Shortage of barrels here currently so you should be safe

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Not sure where to ask this but are all VA dom lounges now open (i.e. OOL)?

 

[Mattg]

Not sure where to ask this but are all VA dom lounges now open (i.e. OOL)?

I believe so, although nobody has confirmed it in the other thread - General VA Lounge Discussion (2021 onwards)

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

I believe so, although nobody has confirmed it in the other thread - General VA Lounge Discussion (2021 onwards)

Ahh thanks didn't notice that thread! Surely someone's been through OOL by now. Website seems to suggest it is but would be good to hear firsthand

 

[JK1964]

Yes, was in OOL lounge Friday 24th December, definitely open

 

[Harthagan]

Not sure where to ask this but are all VA dom lounges now open (i.e. OOL)?

Depends what you mean?

Alice Springs, Cairns, Darwin, Mackay and Perth T2 lounges didn't survive Covid. So Virgins already very limited lounge locations is now significantly weaker. Cairns and Darwin would be a pretty big blow to some members I would imagine.

 

[antycbr]

What’s the go with buffets and covid? I had a full self service buffet breakfast in Melbourne CBD but 23km away at the airport it’s still attended service in the VA lounge.

 

[jase05]

What’s the go with buffets and covid? I had a full self service buffet breakfast in Melbourne CBD but 23km away at the airport it’s still attended service in the VA lounge.

I haven’t been in all VA lounges lately but the ones I’ve been too are all attended service.
In the last 6-12 months probably the QF HBA lounge is the only one that springs to my mind as being self service

 

[antycbr]

I haven’t been in all VA lounges lately but the ones I’ve been too are all attended service.
In the last 6-12 months probably the QF HBA lounge is the only one that springs to my mind as being self service

If we are living with Covid we need to live with buffets too.

 

[jase05]

If we are living with Covid we need to live with buffets too.

We are a long way off living with Covid 100%.
Could be still years if ever until life returns to pre Covid days

 

[AIRwin]

I guess it's better than the Darwin lounge which has become the staff room for the NT border control staff.

The Flying Maiden is still on the wall:

 

[jakeseven7]

Yeah. It applies to all non-catered ports

Why can’t they get catering in Canberra? Don’t people in Canberra make food

 

[AIRwin]

The sign reminds me of Betty’s burgers which is also owned by Bain.

Looks like Betty's burgers will be served in BNE, MEL and SYD lounges on Thursday and Friday nights:

Virgin Australia launches exclusive new in-flight and Lounge menu with Betty's Burgers and Boost Juice

newsroom.virginaustralia.com

 

[knagelli]

How is the current service offering in VA melbourne lounge ? We have a late evening flight from Mel , not sure if it is worth checking in early to spend time at the lounge.

 

[Bagpuss]

How is the current service offering in VA melbourne lounge ? We have a late evening flight from Mel , not sure if it is worth checking in early to spend time at the lounge.

It is basic but not too bad.

My question is with the security issues is it worthwhile going to the lounge if arriving at the airport or probably more importantly if on a connecting flight taking it is before security.

 

[knagelli]

more importantly if on a connecting flight taking it is before security.

Definitely a good point as the premium exit from the lounge seems not functional yet. If the queue at security is long , I believe it is wise not to be stuck at the lounge for long.

 

[lovestotravel]

What's the MEL lounge like for breakfast these days ? I can't find recent photos/trip reports

I'm switching to VA as QF have lost the plot and since SQ redemptions are back too

 

[henrus]

What's the MEL lounge like for breakfast these days ? I can't find recent photos/trip reports

Breakfast in the VA lounges is basically back to pre pandemic days. A mixture of typical hot food with cold options as well however it's worth noting that many VA lounges still haven't gone back to self service whereas I believe most if not all QF lounges have.

Less than a week ago I had the ability to visit both the VA and QF lounge in Canberra one after the other (I was flying QF but guested in by people flying VA) in the afternoon.

My Canberra lounge comparison	Virgin Australia	Qantas (Business lounge)
Entry	Ability to enter via self service machine so no wait.	Had to wait several minutes as the only person at the entry desk was busy processing seat/flight changes.
Cleanliness	Nothing note worthy jumped out as unclean and they cleaned tables very quickly as well (although the lounge was quieter)	I sat down the back near the bar and the floor was visibly dirty and could do with a real good mop.
Food	A selection of about 4-5 pre-plated items like Salads/Pasta/wraps - all cold Fruit/Packet chips and cookies.	Some chicken/rice hot dish plus a soup. The typical cheese cubes plus a few other cold items like ham/tomato etc plus the usual snack items.
Drinks	I don't drink wine but the people I was with were impressed with $20-30 bottles of wine (they googled it) plus a range of can/bottled beers (nothing local or special). No spirits.	Mixture of basic spirits, wines (slightly poorer than VA in quaility) plus beer on tap.
Toilets	Nothing to complain about and clean although showers are still closed.	Ironically I'd say the loos were cleaner than the lounge plus the showers were open.
Seating	Lounge was quite empty when first walking in but filled up to about 50-60% before departure.	Quite full with very few spare seats, actually poor that the QF Club wasn't open to act as an overflow space.
View	View out over the runway.	No view of anything noteworthy in the QF business lounge.

 

[antycbr]

Breakfast in the VA lounges is basically back to pre pandemic days. A mixture of typical hot food with cold options as well however it's worth noting that many VA lounges still haven't gone back to self service whereas I believe most if not all QF lounges have.

Less than a week ago I had the ability to visit both the VA and QF lounge in Canberra one after the other (I was flying QF but guested in by people flying VA) in the afternoon.

My Canberra lounge comparison	Virgin Australia	Qantas (Business lounge)
Entry	Ability to enter via self service machine so no wait.	Had to wait several minutes as the only person at the entry desk was busy processing seat/flight changes.
Cleanliness	Nothing note worthy jumped out as unclean and they cleaned tables very quickly as well (although the lounge was quieter)	I sat down the back near the bar and the floor was visibly dirty and could do with a real good mop.
Food	A selection of about 4-5 pre-plated items like Salads/Pasta/wraps - all cold Fruit/Packet chips and cookies.	Some chicken/rice hot dish plus a soup. The typical cheese cubes plus a few other cold items like ham/tomato etc plus the usual snack items.
Drinks	I don't drink wine but the people I was with were impressed with $20-30 bottles of wine (they googled it) plus a range of can/bottled beers (nothing local or special). No spirits.	Mixture of basic spirits, wines (slightly poorer than VA in quaility) plus beer on tap.
Toilets	Nothing to complain about and clean although showers are still closed.	Ironically I'd say the loos were cleaner than the lounge plus the showers were open.
Seating	Lounge was quite empty when first walking in but filled up to about 50-60% before departure.	Quite full with very few spare seats, actually poor that the QF Club wasn't open to act as an overflow space.
View	View out over the runway.	No view of anything noteworthy in the QF business lounge.

An excellent comparison.

Also worth noting that you were comparing VAs lounge to the top tier QF offering that can be accessed by those who aren’t CL/VA club members. The QC would typically have a lower level of amenity.

Not to mention the cost of access for QF either via a higher paid fare or higher price to attain status is a significant premium over VA. However QF have a bigger network of locations.